Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith tussled on transport issues today, to mark the annual rise in rail fares.
Jeremy Corbyn launched a Transport Tuesday campaign and reiterated plans to nationalise the rail network, as well as giving a pledge to expand bus franchising powers and to allow local authorities to set up new municipal bus companies.
This morning Mr Corbyn said on Twitter that: ‘Bringing the railways back into public ownership could save rail passengers 10% on their fares.’
He also told the media: ‘This [policy] would not cost us very much because in fact we would be taking over the franchises as they ran out and hand them over to Direct Rail to run as train companies.
‘More money is paid in subsidies to the train operating companies and investment in British Rail ever received. So we pay more money in order for great profits to be made by some of the train operating companies. Even Southern Rail, despite its appalling services is posting very large profits and the directors are extremely well paid.’
The Government-owned company, Directly Operated Railways, stepped in to run trains on the East Coast mainline in late 2009 after National Express walked away. The company returned more than £1bn to the Treasury during its five-year tenure.
Owen Smith has matched Mr Corbyn's plans for nationalising the railways and recently told Transport Network: ‘The Tories’ shambolic oversight of our railways has caused delays, price hikes and cancellations. The Southern Rail debacle shows the urgent need for action and the dire situation hundreds of thousands of passengers have been forced to put up with.
'That’s why, under my leadership, Labour will fully commit to re-nationalising the railways. As the contract for each franchise expires, the next Labour Government will return the railways to public ownership.
'A publicly-run rail network will reduce the number of delays and cancellations and make for a more efficient and profitable service.'
Mr Smith's campaign told Transport Network: 'Owen was a member of the shadow cabinet in 2012 when Maria Eagle developed the policy Jeremy has today endorsed, and until this summer sat alongside Lilian Greenwood who was working to stop the Tories' ban on new municipal bus companies.
'He strongly supported his colleagues' work.'
Labour has previously told Transport Network of its opposition to the ban on municipal bus companies,as well its ambition to ensure bus franchising powers are ‘available to any competent authority that wants to apply for them'.
Mr Smith’s team also said it would go further to improve transport with his plans for a £200bn infrastructure fund.
The Government’s Bus Services Bill has sought to reintroduce bus franchising but has a limited scope as it only applies franchising powers to certain areas with devolution deals, while at the same time banning municipal bus companies.
Combined authorities with elected mayors ‘will have automatic access to franchising powers with no further input from central Government, while, other local transport authorities may get franchising powers 'where the capability and track-record of the authority concerned is sufficiently strong and where there is an appropriate economic geography'.
Existing municipal bus companies would not affected.
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